Awakening: The Failsafe
by thyrandomninja
Summary: Grima has returned, plunging the world into darkness. The remaining Grimleal and endless Risen torment the last of humanity. Gathered in one final haven, everyone knows only one course of action has the slightest chance of altering their bleak future: changing the past. Altered version of Awakening from the children characters' points of view. Rated T: violence, gore, language.
1. Prologue: Fellblood Rising

**Awakening: The Failsafe**

**So... fanfiction. What goes in this paragraph anyway? I've been writing original stories for a while now, but I've decided to put them on the backburner for a while and do this instead. Why? Dunno; let's see how it turns out.**

**Awakening from the viewpoints of the children characters, with some altered plot points to avoid you having to read what has already happened in the game. Biggest difference is that the children are a little more organized this time around, as opposed to waiting for up to five years for Chrom's army to come and rescue them.**

**I'm expecting readers to have at least nearly finished the main plotline of Awakening, so there may be some spoilers and unexplained bits for those who haven't. I've also made my own excuses and backstory for Morgan, because I like mages armoured in black (deal with it).**

**There won't be many references to the parent characters' pairings, but those that are mentioned are arbitrarily taken from one of my playthroughs of the game.**

**No OCs; no OTP stuff (I'm leaving that up to you to decide); just good old fashioned beat-the-snot-out-of-a-giant-dragon-(not-quite-a)- god fun. Any criticisms are welcome, especially the constructive ones.**

**Updates are during the first week of each month (starting 1st-7th September 2013)and will be roughly 4000 words each. Update intervals may shorten, depending on how much my writing suffers with the renewal of schoolwork, but I vow it will NEVER take longer than one month to upload. Thanks for reading and, above all, enjoy the read.**

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Prologue: Fellblood Rising

The party ran up the stairs, fleeing the hordes of Risen snarling at their feet. Kjelle saw an arrow headed for Severa's heel and took the blow with her large steel shield. The young mage, Laurent, no older than perhaps fifteen years, hurled thunderbolts and fireballs down the temple's ascent, stopping the advance as much as he could.

A dark shadow descended towards them and Gerome made the leap onto the incoming wyvern's back. Once the others were inside, Minerva swiped at the thin set of stairs with her tail, collapsing the only entrance with some help from Nah's dragonform and Laurent's Mjölnir spell.

Only flying beasts and their riders could risk the gap and Noire expertly picked them off, single arrows felling each one. A griffon came close, but Cynthia's lance landed a deadly blow to the beast's neck, her Pegasus swooping low under the unnaturally sharpened talons.

The Risen were now regrouping on the other side of the pit, some of those who had fallen with the staircase clawing their way out of the rubble. The twelve teenagers retreated into the temple, closing and barring the doors behind them.

'Be careful, Lucy!' Cynthia called after her sister, who was already climbing towards the sacred statue of Naga.

Gerome, now on foot, was in tow, muttering a few words of encouragement. 'We would not have followed you this far if we did not believe in you.' he finished, passing a blue metal mask to the would-be Exalt.

She gave the all too familiar acknowledging nod in return and continued up the stairs as he returned to the others.

'What do we do now?' asked a near-panicking Yarne, already knowing the answer.

'We defend Lucina with our lives.' The simple instruction from Gerome somehow gave them all the necessary encouragement.

'WE WILL REND FLESH FROM BONE AND BATHE IN THEIR BLOOD!' the talisman roared in agreement.

'Welcome, Lucina Divineblood.'

Lucina was on one knee before the dragon's statue. 'Do you know why we are here, milady?'

'You plan to use the Failsafe. No explanation is required, nor should any delay be accepted. You have not awakened my true power, but I will use what little I have to open the gate and defend your escape.'

A blue ring of light spread out from the altar. 'Each of you must walk into the light to travel.'

Lucina ran back down the stairs. 'It's ready. We just need to go into that blue circle.' she pointed toward the altar.

A solid mass of shadows formed before the group, inspiring each to aim their weapons squarely at the chest of the Black-Armoured Mage.

'Gods, no! How did she get in here?!' Lucina cried, almost losing her remaining will.

'Her intentions are pure.' The Divine Dragon's voice flowed through the temple.

Laurent was not as forgiving as those who lowered their weapons. A stream of Thoron bolts flowed from his hands and the mage allowed her armour to be dissolved away, revealing the young girl inside.

'Laurent!' Lucina's voice calmed the boy before she turned her own anger on the girl. 'Explain your business, _fellblood_, before I let them finish what Laurent started.'

The girl turned to Laurent, who refused to meet her eye and instead began the ascent to the light.

'I learned of the Failsafe a few days ago, but I did not report it.'

'ANY WORD FROM HER MOUTH IS A LIE! WE SHOULD KILL HER AND USE HER BONES AS DREAMCATCHERS!'

Lucina whipped around and ripped the talisman from Noire's hands, returning the young archer to her naturally meek self.

'Thank you.' she muttered, unsure if anyone heard it.

'I am not, as you have every reason to believe, loyal to Grima. I am loyal only to my father.'

'Your father is dead and all our parents are dead because of him.' Severa spat.

The mage continued unfazed. 'And I consider giving you the chance to change this world a better way of honouring him. I did not warn my father of the Failsafe, but he must have known as soon as I did anyway. I am here to offer my lance in covering your escape.'

'And we believe you just because.' Brady snapped, cracking his staff on the floor and receiving an agreeing nod from Severa.

'As I said, her intentions are pure.'

The door rattled, hard knocks suddenly emanating from it.

Lucina turned to her band of soldiers. 'Go. I will follow you shortly.'

They knew better than to argue, but Gerome lingered, staring blankly into her marked eye before bowing his head and leading Minerva to the light.

'You are lucky we have given you this chance, even with Naga's encouragement.'

'I know. I have committed atrocities for which you should never forgive me.'

The knocking grew faster and stronger. Naga's image appeared beside the mage, a mere ghost of her potential, and wielding an ethereal Falchion. The mage turned to the door and the shadows collected to form her armour and lance. Lucina placed the mask over her face and began to draw her own Falchion.

'You should go before you miss the chance… and let my brother know I'm sorry.'

The doors exploded inwards as Lucina let her blade slide back into its scabbard and ran. The mage loosed a stream of Arcfire into the oncoming mass before plunging her lance into the hoard. Some of the Risen ignored their enemies and made a beeline for the light. Lucina managed to push some of them off the sides of the stairs and followed two in front of her into the Failsafe as the Black-Armoured Mage's last words rang through the temple.

'I am Morgan Fellblood and in honour of my father, my mother and my brother, I shall fight to protect a better world until one of you tears my head from my neck!'

The Fell Dragon's roar signalled his arrival and confirmed that soon there would be naught but corpses and rubble.

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**Yes, this was short, but it was just a prologue and you are getting a full chapter in two weeks' time as opposed to usual gap of a month. Hope you liked it!**

**Have a nice day,**

**Thy Random Ninja**


	2. Chapter 1: Welcome Changes

**Well, that was a short two weeks. I've haven't been writing as much as I have over the month beforehand, but I'm far ahead of schedule anyway, so here's the second piece. There isn't much action, because this chapter is more about introducing how I will be writing the characters and their interactions, giving people a chance to both get used to my personal style and to point out any OoC-ness that you may notice. Hope you enjoy it.**

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Chapter 1: Welcome Changes

Noire and Severa fell out of the blue circle, now above most trees. Noire scrambled to her feet, whereas Severa had landed gracefully on hers.

'The sky… blue sky! It's blue, Severa! The sky is blue!' Noire was drunk on the novelty of the clear weather.

'I have eyes, Noire. Looks good. I can barely remember the last time the sky wasn't pitch black.'

'Wh-what do we do now? Where are we? Where are the others?!' Severa could tell Noire was about to have a panic attack as she searched around for her talisman. 'Where is it!? Where's my talisman!?'

_Great_, thought Severa. _Now she's hyperventilating._ She slapped her companion, a stern look in her eyes. 'Snap out of it! Lucina took it off you remember? You don't need some ruddy piece of metal anymore; there's no-one we need to fight. We meet at Ylisstol the night before Emmeryn dies and Lucina will give it back.'

Noire rubbed her now red cheek. 'Okay.' she whispered.

Severa rolled her eyes and sighed. 'Fine, I'm sorry I hit you, alright? Now come on, we need to figure out the date.' She picked a direction and started walking.

'That's okay.' came the near-silent reply.

* * *

Brady, Owain and Cynthia all landed with a thud.

'Ah! As if me back wasn't bad enough.' Brady groaned.

Cynthia's pegasus panicked at the sudden change in gravity and flew around for several seconds before calming and returning to Cynthia's side. Cynthia grimaced as she used the beast to drag herself to her feet.

'Ooh! That was hardly the most heroic thing I've ever done.'

'Ha! Such meagre bruising will scarcely dampen our spirits in the long haul.' Owain had quickly sprung to his feet. 'Come, great paragons! We set course for Ylisstol. Owain Dark, Great Avenger of the Night, shall lead the way!'

Brady struggled to stand, relying heavily on his staff. 'Yeah, well, if Mister Dark could let the other two "paragons" know where we are, that'd be great.'

Owain smiled awkwardly in their direction. 'Ha ha, yeah, I guess I don't know.' His sword hand began to twitch violently. 'Aha! Never fear, comrades, for the hand shall give us direction.'

Before Owain could leave the pair bewildered and lost, a cackling voice came from behind the nearest trees.

'Don't know about you, boys, but I reckon an "Avenger of the Night" ought to fetch us a good lot of coin back home.'

A band of barbarians revealed themselves hidden behind the trunks of a forest.

'Little did our three young heroes know they had stumbled into a trap, but less still did their captors know-' Owain was interrupted a swift crack on the head by Brady's staff.

'Quit yer yappin' and jes' kill 'em.'

'Ooh, the cripple's got a mouth on him, but can he walk the talk? Oh, sorry, guess he can't walk at all.' The leading thug's jeer was met with a chorus of laughter from the onlooking brigands.

'That tears it!' Brady shifted the intricately patterned metal dial on his staff and slammed it into the dirt, releasing its energy.

A yellow light encompassed the gang leader and he was teleported to Brady's position as he raised the staff again to bring it down on the man's face.

'Agh! Gods! You're gonna pay for that, brat!' He brought his large axe around for a killing blow, but Owain got there first, his sword slicing into the barbarian's guts.

'And so, with their leader dead on the forest floor, the cowardly bandits turned and fled the deadly triumvirate.'

'What's the betting we got no such luck?'

'Oh, don't be so mean, Brady. I like Owain's little stories.'

'"Little stories"? You offend me, dear cousin, I-'

'By the gods, can we just get this over with?' Brady turned the dial again, preparing for long-range healing as the rampant mob charged them.

* * *

'I've got to say, I'm pretty glad I ended up with you, Nah. The location could've been better, though.'

The pair trudged through the deep swamp, occasionally needing to pull each other's legs out of a particularly thick part.

'Only because you're a coward and know I'm actually capable of handling this myself.'

'I'm not a coward!' The young taguel insisted indignantly. 'I've just got to look out for myself to preserve my species!'

'And as I've said before, if we don't stop Grima, you'll be the last taguel corpse. You can turn into a giant weasel, you've don't even have anything to worry about.'

'I'm a bunny, not a weasel!'

'The difference being…?'

'A bunny is cute and adorable, whereas weasels are evil and cunning. Just look at one; they're clearly plotting something against us rabbits. Plus, a bunny can't exactly defend itself as well as a weasel can.'

'How about this, then? Either you help when it comes to a fight, or I ditch you here.'

'Alright, alright. But couldn't we at least transform to get to Ylisstol faster?'

'If you want to use up your only stone, fine; don't come crying to me when you run into the Grimleal and haven't got any juice left.'

Yarne sighed heavily. 'At the very least, can we get to that building?'

'What building?' Nah scanned the area; unrelenting tides of mud in all directions as far as she could tell.

'That one on the horizon.' Yarne pointed at a vague grey object, which looked more like a rock and even then, only if Nah squinted.

'Hold on a second.' Nah rifled through her bag, grabbing a fist-sized, emerald green stone.

She looked at the grey blob as her eyes began to shift into those of a reptile. The irises turned red as the skin around them became scaly and shone with a crimson hue. She snapped back to her normal features, letting the stone drop back into the bag.

'How did you even see that?'

'Hey, just because you're the apex predator, doesn't mean you're better at everything.'

'Well, if you're going to transform to get there, you should carry me; one of us at least should conserve energy.'

'Hey! Why can't you carry me?'

'Because you're the one complaining and if we get into a fight, I'm going to need my stone more than you'll need yours.'

Yarne looked sheepishly at the ground as he accepted his role of Nah's steed. His entire body began sprouting hair and what he already had elongated into a thick down. His face stretched and features became animalistic, his teeth sharpening into serrated knives.

When the transformation was complete, he was three times the size of a man, with powerful hind legs and razor-sharp claws. Light brown and white fur covered his body and two large floppy ears hung at the side of his head. Blue leather armour was strapped around his midsection, having grown with his body.

He turned his head towards Nah and, in a gravelly voice, said, 'Hold on tight; most people aren't used to going taguel speeds.'

'I thought you could only run fast if you knew it was in the opposite direction of a fight.' Nah chided as she clambered onto Yarne's back. 'Besides, I'm a manakete – I can probably handle faster speeds than you can pull off anyway.' She shook off a particularly large clump of mud which had stuck to her leg. 'Ugh; I really hope there's some way to wash off at that place.'

Annoyed, Yarne took off across the landscape, his larger form less hindered by the swamp. Nah screamed as she nearly flew off his back and tightened her grip on his armour, digging her fingers into the spaces between leather and skin.

Yarne felt the air flowing through his fur, welcoming the opportunity to stretch his muscles. Within a matter of minutes, they had reached the building, which was now obviously some sort of temple and only one floor tall. The intricately carved decorative features ordained every inch of the outside walls. It appeared to be based on plants, not that either of the pair could see much more than a few tufts of reeds in the slowly thickening darkness.

Yarne skidded to a halt just outside the temple's wide set of stairs leading up to the huge wooden doors, spraying mud into the air about him. Nah jumped down as he returned to human form.

'Gods, you flung mud everywhere; it's even in my hair now.' She tried to remove as much as she could, but with little success.

'All I want to do right now is sleep; it's getting late and we still don't know where we actually are, so we may as well get some shut-eye.' Yarne began his climb up the stairs.

'Wait, don't you think it's even a tiny bit suspicious? A random temple in literally the middle of nowhere and we still can't see _any_ other sign of civilisation. That's a little too convenient for my liking.'

Yarne pulled a face of mixed sadness, tiredness and boredom. 'But I'm tiiiired. We'll just go in a little bit and sleep by the door if it bothers you that much.'

Nah still looked uneasy, but conceded to Yarne's desire to sleep. 'I suppose it can't hurt if we're only a foot away from the door…'

* * *

'Gods. Of all people, why'd I have to be stuck with you?'

Inigo bounded along after Kjelle, skipping around trees and leaping over smaller plants. 'Because we're connected; it's fate, I tell you. We're destined to be together.'

'Tell fate to get back to his real job of denying you every woman on the planet.'

Inigo recoiled dramatically. 'Oh, that's harsh. Why would you so injure one who loves you so?'

Kjelle turned her lance towards him. 'Are you going to shut up, or do I have to stab this sort of behaviour out of you?'

Inigo stared at the lance, contemplating his choice. 'Er… I'll be quiet.'

Kjelle twisted her lance and jabbed his stomach with the blunt end.

'Ow! Hey! I said I'd stop.'

'Can't hurt to be sure.'

Sure enough, Inigo's silence only lasted a few short minutes.

'Where are we? Come to think of it; when are we?'

'Wait.' Kjelle held up a hand, pretending to listen out for something.

'What is it?' Inigo whispered.

'Nothing; just cherishing the last seconds of you not talking. Anyway, to answer your question, I'm pretty sure I recognise this forest and we're going towards Ylisstol. As for the date; have we _met_ anyone to ask?'

'No need to bite my head off. Anger mars your natural beauty.'

'Hopefully it'll be marred enough for you to stop harassing me.'

'No amount of anger could do such damage as to make _you_ unattractive.'

Kjelle shook her head and sighed. 'Just so I know; are you going to keep talking for the entire journey? I want to weigh up your usefulness in a fight against how annoying you are.'

'In the fight for love, words are my weapon and I shall not rest until I have claimed your heart.'

'A simple "yes" would have sufficed.'

Kjelle waited until he had bounced over to the side of her free hand before using it to slap him, hard enough to send him spinning to the floor. He spent the next half a minute stretching his jaw and blinking tears away, buying her another chunk of silence.

'Damn. That was a wallop and a half.' he groaned, pushing himself up from the wet forest floor.

'Yes, I do think it was rather well-placed.' Kjelle mused, admiring her handiwork. 'Though I definitely could've got more power behind it; probably could've left a proper bruise, rather than just a red mark.'

Before Inigo could complain further, the pair stumbled out of the trees and onto a path. Looking left, they could see an exit to a clearing only ten metres away.

'Aha! Told you I knew what I was doing.' Kjelle announced as they came into a large open field, a small town at the other end of it.

'Um… I hate to rain on your parade, but that's way too small to be Ylisstol.'

'It's better than you would've done if you'd been on your own. Come on; we'll ask someone in town when and where exactly we are.'

It took only a couple of minutes to reach the town, at which point, they found a sign saying "Welcome to Southtown".

Inigo looked at it, slightly confused. 'Isn't Southtown on the other side of a forest to Ylisstol?'

Kjelle was clearly unimpressed with herself. 'Yup. Not only have I managed to not lead us to Ylisstol, I've actually taken us further from it. That's just great, isn't it?' She let her shield and lance lie against the town's small outer wall.

'Oh, well. Like you said, it's not like I could've done any better. We can still ask someone inside what the date is.'

Kjelle grumbled to herself as the pair entered the town.

* * *

Gerome landed kneeling on a long wood and rope bridge, Minerva falling below, but gathering her bearings soon enough to fly back up in a matter of seconds. Faint roars erupted from around the area and Gerome looked around at what he knew must be Valm's Wyvern Valley.

The pillars of rock dotted across the landscape dominated his view. Bridges of the same kind as the one he stood on stretched between them, allowing easy passage for any people who decided to journey through. Below him, at the bottom of the valley, very little plant life grew, most of the available sunlight blocked by the pillars.

Topping the constructions themselves were lush patches of grass and flowers, visited by insects of all species. Small mammals sprinted between the cover of larger plants and holes leading to their warrens.

Wyverns of all colours and sizes circled the site. One glided down for a closer look at what it probably assumed was its next meal, landing at one end of the bridge. It bared its teeth, snarling at Gerome, but didn't dare move onto the fragile construction.

Minerva came to her master's rescue, roaring at the young red male and landing near it and stretching her wings and neck as a sign of dominance. She flapped her wings at it but it stood its ground, keeping low and hopping backward from the advancing beast. Minerva whipped around, gouging a scar in the ground between the two with her tail. The male realised it would stand no chance in a fight and departed, turning to fly away from Minerva.

Gerome finished the journey to the end of the bridge, where he moved to stroke Minerva's head.

'Thank you, Minerva.' He looked around at the largest gathering of wyverns known to the continent. 'I had hoped to leave this until after we had dealt with Grima, but I suppose this is Naga's way of sending me a sign.'

Minerva was sniffing the ground and her tail waved happily across the grass. Gerome moved his hand along her neck to the saddle around her chest. He undid the clasp, pulling the leather seat off of her back.

'Go. Live at least some of the life my mother denied you.'

The beast turned to see her master, growling inquisitively. She ran and leapt off of the nearest cliff, roaring as she soared upward.

The masked rider deduced which direction was north and navigated his way to the south-eastern exit from the valley. He turned to glance once more at his best friend and, to his surprise, the large blue reptile was flying over to him.

He turned back as Minerva flew past him and landed a few feet away. She turned to him and dropped the saddle she had picked up between them, nosing it closer to him. She held her head low, indicating her willingness to continue with him.

'I suppose we are each other's memento of her. Very well.' He locked the saddle back onto the wyvern's belly and climbed into the seat. 'Thank you. The journey would have been lonely without you.'

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**So ends my first chapter. I could have sworn it was longer, but I checked and the others are all about the 4,000 words I promised. I particularly enjoyed writing the Nah/Yarne section here and describing the transformations (I'll be doing more of that later as well). Oh, and fair warning: if you're going to ask "was there a reason you did(n't)…", there undoubtedly is. I am constantly thinking about the big picture (it's why I can't handle writing short stories - I even develop larger plots in my head when I read my friends' short stories), so there's probably a reason for "…".**

**That's enough rambling from me. School starts up again in three days, so I'll be able to judge whether I can speed up the uploads, but expect Chapter 2 to appear in the first week of October.**

**Have a nice day,**

**TRN**


	3. Chapter 2: Two Falchions

**UCAS is now the bane of my existence (I don't know if that's a thing in america, but we across the pond need to spend fifty hours filling out a giant-ass form so we can apply to uni). I finished everything, but apparently my personal statement is 'too chatty', so that's going to take another ten hours to sort out (I really can't write about myself, so it take far too long for its length).**

**Anyway, thanks for reading my rant there, but you're here to read the second chapter of 'The Failsafe'. like this one, because I'm introducing a concept that's going to pop back up in all subsequent chapters (you'll know what it is when you see it).**

**One last thing, then I'll leave you to read: don't hesitate to review this. Even if it's a tiny little thing you (dis)like, let me know. The whole reason I'm here is to learn what I do well and what needs improving, so please, if you're on the fence as to whether to write a review or not, DO.**

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Chapter 2: Two Falchions

Laurent had been following the signal since it had first shown up. He had been in Ylisstol and had hoped his target would make her way straight to the meeting point, but she had instead bypassed the city entirely and had found her way into the territory of Regna Ferox's West Khan, Basilio. Laurent had followed and was now desperately trying to close the last few metres between them. The staff glowed around the edge, pointing the way.

At last, he caught sight of her across the market, making her way towards the Khan's home. He ran to catch her, occasionally slamming into some innocent bystander.

'Lucina! I say, Lucina!' She turned just as he caught up to her.

'Laurent? Is that you? You look at least three years older.'

'Three years, precisely. I fear I was rather impetuous in my exit from our time and ended up here far before anyone else. I made my way to Ylisstol as soon as I was able, but once I discovered the date, I quite regretted the decision. Regardless, I must ask why you are here.'

'Three years on your own waiting for us? Gods, I'm so sorry; we should have gone through together.' She looked around, looking for something to kick.

'Oh, it's no-one's fault but my own. Besides, I'm a grown man now; I've been developing my magical abilities for the majority of the time.'

Lucina laughed. 'I can scarce imagine how powerful you are now. Is there anything you even needed to improve?'

'I would draw your attention to the time we found a Valflamme tome.'

Lucina gasped at the memory. 'Oh, gods; those poor sheep.'

'Cattle aside, why are you in Regna Ferox with mere days until Emmeryn's assassination?'

'I would ask the same of you. You said you've been in Ylisstol for three years.'

'I was following you.' Laurent raised the staff. 'I took the liberty of applying a magical trace to you before we left.'

'Nothing flammable, I hope. And where did you get that staff from?'

'It ought to peter out in a few days' time. I borrowed the head from Brady in order to apply the trace and bought the staff itself in the city. Are you going to grace my enquiry with an answer?'

'I've been considering fighting for the West Khan in the upcoming tournament. If we change as much of Plegia's history as possible, we stand more of a chance when it comes to stopping Grima.'

'But Chrom fights for East Khan Flavia and wins Feroxi troops to Ylisse's cause, which allows victory in the upcoming war with Plegia. Is that not the good part of our saga?'

'If Ferox doesn't commit troops, even my father wouldn't risk war with Plegia. Gangrel will remain on the throne and Plegia is sent further into the self-destructive spiral it has already begun. If we're lucky, the Grimleal never get a proper foothold in the Plegian royal house and adding in any other changes we can make, it could well be enough to stop Grima.'

'A bold strategy, milady. I know of a few historians who would agree with you, but it could result in Ylisse losing the war and that could make matters much worse.'

'Ylisse has enough soldiers to hold off any offences Plegia makes, especially with the twelve of us added in.'

'Alright, let's say this is a good idea – and I'm still not wholly convinced – it does involve you defeating your father in a swordfight.'

'True, I was never able to best him in our time, but I'm hoping that the experience loss will help me with that and now with you by my side, I stand a much better chance.'

'Me? I may be able to set fire to him from afar, but as soon as your father closes the gap, he could very well kill me in a single stroke.'

'Terms of the tournament are one champion, five aides and until the enemy are dead _or surrendering_. Plus, I'll keep his attention off of you; so long as the other four aides can hold off his five, we have a very realistic chance of succeeding.'

'And how do you plan on becoming Basilio's appointed champion?'

'Would you stop trying to tear my plan apart? That's where I'm going now. If I defeat the current champion-'

'And knowing the Khan's proclivity for strength, he may well enter you instead.' Laurent finished.

'Exactly.'

The pair had now arrived at the Khan's home. Two Feroxi guards blocked the stairway entrance.

'And just what are you two doing here?' one of them asked, his speech and stature clearly defining him as the senior officer.

'We have business with Khan Basilio. He isn't expecting us.'

'Sure… everyone's got business with Basilio. "Oh, please can't I be in the tournament? I've got a wife and kids that need feeding."'

'I'm going to stop you before you waste any more of my time. If you don't think I'm champion material, throw a fight my way. Two on two. I'll even hold one hand behind my back to give you a chance.'

Laurent looked horrified at the prospect. 'I'm sorry, two on two? I certainly hope I'm not this second man you're referring to.'

'Man up, Laurent. You know we're better than a pair of Feroxi guards.' The guards themselves were unfazed by the taunt.

'It's not a matter of bravery; I just don't see why you people have to solve every dispute with blade rather than tongue.'

The Ferox captain interjected. 'Here in Regna Ferox, actions speak an awful lot louder than words. We accept your premise; two on two. If you win, you get to meet Basilio.'

The three drew their weapons.

'Now hold on, we're fighting _here_?'

In response, the younger guard swung his axe at Laurent, who ducked enough to avoid a decapitation, but his hat was knocked off, landing a few feet away on the dusty stairs. Laurent flicked his wrists, whipping the air in front of him to blow the guard back into the building.

The captain and Lucina were locked in a sword duel, but Lucina was much more relaxed and it soon became obvious she would be the victor. A few seconds later, the captain was on his back with Falchion's tip at his neck.

The younger guard ran out of the building, holding his axe in both hands, but Laurent's now flaming arms made him hesitate enough for the mage to floor him. The captain got off the floor, looking both humiliated for himself and disappointed in his protégé.

'It looks like you get to meet the Khan after all.' He motioned at the building's interior. 'Go ahead.'

Lucina sheathed Falchion as Laurent extinguished his arms. He picked up his hat then followed his friend inside, brushing off dust as he went.

Torches lined the way deeper into the building, throwing shadows bizarrely about the arrogantly long hallway. The next room was darker still, only lit by the two torches at the door they had come through.

The pair's eyes had not yet adjusted to the light changes when the Khan's booming voice resounded through the room, shocking Laurent into hitting his head on one of the torches, sending a cloud of sparks into the air.

'So you're the ones who think they can make it into the tournament?'

'To be quite honest, it's more he-' A swift elbow to the stomach shut Laurent up. 'Excuse me?'

Lucina whispered an explanation. 'Refer to me as male; that's what people here think. Better disguise.'

'I'm sorry?' Laurent asked incredulously at full volume. 'That works?'

'Probably should have warned you earlier. Just let me do the talking.'

'Anything I should know?' Basilio had been walking towards the pair, an unlit torch in hand, and now he stopped close enough to be visible.

'Nothing that would change your opinion on the matter at hand.' Lucina's eyes followed the Khan as he went about the room, using the fire from one of the first torches to light others dotted along the walls.

As each was lit, it became more obvious that the room was actually designed for holding matches, most likely for the very purpose it was about to be used for. In the centre was a square arena, raised about one foot above the rest of the floor, with a few steps leading up to it on each side. Opposite the entrance were five plain stone chairs, presumably for various judges.

'Well, no point dragging this out; may as well get the show on the road.' Basilio smiled warmly, yet clearly excited at the promise of a fight.

As he walked past a door to the right of the chairs, he placed the torch in an empty slot and banged a large fist twice on the door before making his way to the centre seat. Three more men and a woman, obviously veterans of battle, entered through the door and filled the remaining chairs.

Finally, a black-haired man, younger than the judges, entered carrying two training swords and dressed in blue clothes specially tailored to allow maximum freedom of movement in battle.

'We assumed from your fight outside that you would like a sword.' Basilio had spoken normally, but from where he sat, the echo magnified his volume.

Lucina handed Falchion and its sheath to Laurent, who looked uneasy being trusted with the holy blade.

The current champion handed one of the swords to Lucina, who nodded gratefully as she took it.

'Might I ask your name?' The man spoke with a gruff voice.

'Though it is not my true name, I go by Marth. What may I call you?'

He twitched at hearing Lucina's voice. 'Lon'qu.'

'Lon'qu?' Lucina looked quizzically at Laurent, who could only guess at the expression behind the princess' mask but appeared equally confused.

'Is there an issue?' Basilio queried.

Lucina hesitated, looking again at Laurent, who looked about to demand her abdication from the duel, before answering. 'No. It's just that I've heard that name before. I no longer harbour any doubts that you will be a worthy adversary.'

Lon'qu grunted an acknowledgement and the two readied themselves for the ensuing clash. Lon'qu moved fast, striking with a speed and precision the likes of which would've had Laurent dead in seconds, but Lucina recognised the same techniques she saw in Severa's fighting and was able to fend off the myrmidon long enough to spy a weakness.

The ways of the sword were obviously well-known to him, but the way he linked his attacks together seemed to expect and perhaps even rely on Lucina parrying them. He would throw his attacks in such a way that Lucina would be easily able to defend herself, instantly taking the impulse from the clash into his next attack. Every so often, he would instead make for an opening created by the parry and Lucina was starting to have difficulty anticipating the shift in his aim.

With each blow, she edged slightly further from Lon'qu, until she was perfectly positioned to go against her natural reaction and sidestep a downward slice. Lon'qu realised too late and was unbalanced by the loss of an opposing force. Lucina kicked his sword hand so as to remove the chance of recovery and brought her own blade to the man's neck.

The pair froze in place for a few seconds before Basilio began applauding vehemently.

'Ha har! That was one amazing match, laddie! I like your style; where are you from, anyways? I've not seen a fighting style like that from this continent before.'

'I'm from Ylisse, but I'm mostly self-trained. It was getting harder to find worthy opponents, so I decided to come here.'

Basilio was impressed by her story and began discussing the match with the other judges. Lon'qu offered a hand to Lucina, which she happily shook.

'I had not heard wrong about you, sir. You fight with an interesting tactic, using your opponent's blocks like that.'

'So you had noticed. It is a method which can end fights swiftly, but if not, it becomes predictable. Many a warrior has had a much harder time than you realising.'

Basilio returned his attentions to the pair. 'Lon'qu, you are dismissed. Looks like you've got some training to do. Marth, you're in. You get paid after the tournament, but you get paid more if you win. Have you heard who you'll be fighting?'

'Prince Chrom of Ylisse. I'll admit, I'm unsure as to how it will go.

'He's certainly someone you don't want to underestimate. Well, I'm sure you want to get started on preparation. Do you already know the time details for the tournament?'

'Don't worry; I've read up extensively on the current times and rules.'

'Then, please, take your leave. I'll have someone contact you if anything comes up.'

Lucina bowed her head and exited the hall, retrieving Falchion from Laurent on her way.

'Did you know Severa's father was Basilio's champion? I hadn't read as such in any of my mother's or father's notes. Admittedly, both were rather limited after the Risen attack.'

'I had no idea. I also can't guess what effect his displacement will have on the Shepherds.'

'Hmm. I apologise for my continual contention, but are you absolutely certain of this course of action?'

Lucina took a few seconds to answer. 'Yes. Stop Grima; any collateral is acceptable.'

'Ah, the prime directive, of course.'

'We have to think of only that. Otherwise, we spend time thinking over decisions rather than acting on them. We can give no quarter.'

Laurent nodded his silent approval as the duo left the Khan's home.

* * *

'_Wait, wait, wait. Do we know this thing exists, or have you just read it somewhere?' Severa was being difficult as always._

'_Of course I can't be certain; no-one can, but if it really does exist and we can make it work… we can win this before it even begins.'_

_Lucina looked around at the faces of the other children. They had all put their lives in her hands and so far she'd been able to keep them safe, but now the Risen had taken every human settlement and if reports were to be believed (granted, they couldn't always), they were quickly making their way towards the makeshift camp that comprised of the last remaining humans, and that meant she could no longer pretend to guarantee safety._

'_Even if it is not true, what other option is there?' Gerome backed the princess' idea. 'We fight, we die. We wait, we die. We run, they chase us and we die.'_

_Brady knocked his staff on the ground approvingly. 'I, for one, don't fancy those odds. I'm gonna give this Failsafe thing-a-mie the benefit o' the doubt.'_

_Ever the voice of logic, Laurent piped up. 'Then we shall need three things: a plan to reach and activate the Failsafe, a plan for once we return to that time, and a set of rules determining how much we can interfere with history. I would suggest also issuing a prime directive: the one rule we can never abandon, under any circumstance.'_

'_Don't let innocents get hurt?' Cynthia suggested._

'_It would be a shame for any lovely ladies to come to harm.' Inigo agreed._

'_No.' Gerome countered. 'If any action of ours, or lack thereof, no matter how noble, allows Grima's resurrection, it is unforgiveable. Our prime directive should be that Grima must be stopped. Nothing we do should hinder that. If we must allow innocents to die, so be it. If we must kill innocents, so be it. If we must kill one another… so be it.'_

_Laurent nodded in agreement, but many looked to Lucina, either waiting for her judgement, or for her to dispute Gerome's idea._

'_Gerome is right.' _

_Some of the group shouted their opposition to the idea; others hit weapons, the ground or the table they were gathered around to reinforce their opinion. Gerome turned to Minerva and gave her a small signal._

_The beast let out a short but powerful roar, accompanied by a puff of flame, sending Cynthia's pegasus into a short flurry of panic. The arguing children silenced themselves, allowing Lucina to continue._

'_It's not likely that any of this will happen, but if it did, and we refused, allowing Grima to return, we end up like this again: all of humanity on the brink of extinction. We can't allow it to happen again. We _stop Grima_.'_

* * *

The arena was nearly fifteen metres across, plenty of room for multiple small fights, but small enough that one wouldn't spend half the day getting to their opponent. Neither Laurent nor Lucina had ever fought with an audience which wasn't comprised of two or three people who had recently been attacked by Risen, but the thought wasn't particularly disturbing. Actually much worse was the potential distraction caused by random noises going off whenever the fancy took one of the onlookers.

Lucina stood at the exact antinode of the arena to her father's position, Laurent to her left and an axeman and armoured knight to either side of the pair.

'This is it. I wonder who he'll bring out with him.'

'My mother or Ricken will likely be here as a balance against the larger number of hard-weapon users in the Shepherds. I daresay Rob… my father will make an appearance.' Lucina passed a concerned glance at Laurent. 'He can't very well make use of his tactical thinking without knowing our set-up first. The other three could be any of Kellam, Sully, Stahl or Sumia. Improved movement capabilities and Kellam's defensive superiority would both be of benefit.'

Chrom's aides entered the arena, flanking him. Robin was talking to the group, clearly giving instruction on how to proceed once the fight commenced.

'Laurent, you're up.' Lucina prompted her own tactician.

'Simply put, we expect to be far inferior to our enemy in a straight fight. However, we have the distinct advantage of _knowing_ we are inferior. Hence, a lower-scale version of guerrilla warfare may be applicable here. We all have throwing knives, correct? If we spend our time, instead of actually trying to mob rush Chrom, simply distracting each member of their troupe from a strategic formation, Lu…Marth and I may have the necessary time to defeat Chrom.'

One of the axemen laughed at the suggestion. 'If you think they're better'n us in a fight, you clearly never seen a Feroxi warrior. We got special training up here that you Ylissean types ain't ever gonna see in your lifetime.'

'In traditional battle, my plan would never work. However, given that our aim today is to defeat Chrom, not the entire enemy group, I believe this is our best option.'

'If we do mob rush this Chrom fella, he don't stand a chance-'

Laurent pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, a sign that Lucina knew meant he was beginning to get annoyed, a difficult feat to achieve in as few sentences as this man had.

'Do yourself a favour and look over the arena. Does it look like you'll get to Chrom before those _three_ mounted units get to you? In addition, I can guarantee you that man in the robe is the finest tactician of this century. He could counter a mob rush instantaneously.'

Lucina interrupted the argument. 'Look at it this way; if you keep arguing, or don't follow the plan, I tell Basilio that you're the reason he doesn't remain on the full throne. I hope you like garbage scraps, because that what's you'll be eating for the next few months.'

'Fine. Throw knives and distract 'em. Let the two bigshots take all the glory. So sorry to be an inconvenience, your highnesses.'

'Thank you, L… Marth. Aim for the wings on the pegasus. I happen to know that particular rider is poorly trained for fighting on foot. The horses should scare easily if you get close to their neck or vital organs, but do be wary of the riders even on ground. The mages will be a little tougher to deal with, so I'd advise keeping an eye on their magic throughout the battle. Keep your distance and try to dodge or block the blasts. Your aim is to buy time for us two to defeat Chrom. Good luck.'

With that, the opposing sides turned to face each other. As the horn blasted to signal the start of the tournament, Laurent whispered a final instruction to Lucina.

'Hold him off for a while. I'm going to make sure they follow orders and don't get themselves killed for a minute or so.'

Lucina nodded and unsheathed Falchion, the blade shining in the light. Chrom did the same, a confused expression on his face at seeing his sword's twin.

'Where did you get that?' he called from across the battlefield.

Lucina didn't respond, despite, or perhaps due to, the pain in her heart at hearing her father's voice again. The prince's expression steeled.

'There's no way…'

He charged across the small distance between them. Lucina lowered her sword, preparing to go on the defensive. Chrom leapt into the air once he got close, savagely bringing Falchion to bear on his opponent. A swift block across her chest stopped the weapon dead and the duellers locked for a moment before sliding the divine weapons away from each other.

Lucina rounded the weapon back on her father and he returned the action. Lucina pressed forward aggressively, forcing the prince onto the defensive. Surprised by the sudden onslaught, Chrom could do nothing but retreat until regaining a proper footing.

'Tell me – who taught you to fight like that?'

They locked again, longer this time, but the hidden divine power of each blade reacted poorly to the copy within each other. Sparks flew, forcing the pair to separate. They stood several feet apart now, each steadying their swords for their next manoeuvre. Momentarily forgetting that her father would do the exact same, Lucina charged, thrusting the sword at her opponent. Chrom had perfectly mirrored the action and the swords sparked again as they sliced down the other's length.

The fighters moved straight past each other and turned as soon as possible. Lucina was faster, however, took two steps towards her father and used his own leaping attack against him. She was already in the air by the time he turned.

'My father!' she shouted through gritted teeth as Chrom leapt from his current spot, narrowly avoiding the blow. Dust plumed into the air as she turned again. The pair took some time to rest before recommencing.

* * *

Laurent had stayed at the back of the arena, sending bolts of magic to intercept his parents' attempts on the other aides when they hadn't been paying attention. At this rate, he would never get around to helping Lucina. To further compact his bad luck, Miriel had now turned her attentions to him, firing balls of fire in his direction. He was perfectly capable of deflecting or disrupting each one, but it meant that Robin was able to fire at the others unopposed. Fortunately, the other aides seemed to be getting more able at avoiding trouble.

One of the axemen had lost his axe to Sully's sword, ripping the weapon straight from his hand. He now stood behind the armoured knight, throwing both his own and the knight's knives at the pair of cavaliers attacking them. Sumia had stayed closer to the back, which allowed the other pair of Basilio's aides to close quickly on her once Miriel had started on Laurent. The pegasus was far too fast for them to actually land a hit, but Sumia's lesser fighting prowess meant that it was no large advantage.

The axeman ran at Miriel, ducking under the pegasus' hooves as it swopped in for another attack. The mage had no choice but to stop focusing on Laurent and spend her time avoiding axe swings.

Laurent knew he would never get as good a chance as this, so he sped to Lucina's side, who had just stood up from her completed leap. He launched a fireball at Chrom, who narrowly dodged the attack before renewing his own. Lucina easily intercepted, but it also meant that a clear shot at Chrom was more difficult to achieve.

He tried circling the duellers, but Chrom kept moving to keep his daughter between them. Eventually, Laurent resorted to the more difficult tactic of curving magic around Lucina, but the difference in distance was too short to both avoid her and hit him. His latest attack was barely enough to the left to save Lucina and at that time, the pair locked blades again and both swung outwards. The fireball hit the two swords, exploding on impact.

Both fighters were thrown to the ground. Lucina tried to get up quickly, but Laurent's magic was potent enough for the pain to slow her terribly. Seemingly out of nowhere, Sumia and her pegasus charged down at the swordswoman from the air. She rolled just in time to avoid the lance, it instead stabbing into the earth beneath where she had been.

As the pegasus pulled out of the dive, Sumia pulled the lance out, digging up a small hole of dirt with it. She rounded to Chrom's side as Robin and the two cavaliers joined them. Chrom and Lucina were both burned, but still standing. Laurent moved closer to Lucina's side.

There was no sign of their allies; Robin, Sully and Stahl had already been in a better position on their side of the arena and obviously sheer numbers had done the rest. Miriel had also retreated, unable to fend off the axeman before the cavaliers had helped.

'Any ideas?' Lucina asked, readying her injured swordarm.

'I'm not my father: there's no hope of an actual strategy not being horrendously countered by him.'

The princess gritted her teeth and charged recklessly at her father, Laurent looking on in horror before firing magic at Robin. Robin masterfully directed the blast with his own wind magic into Lucina's path, sending her backwards to the ground. By the time she could see through the smoke again, Chrom had Falchion pointed at her neck.

'Surrender?'

'Surrender.'

Chrom sheathed his blade before offering a hand to help the fallen swordswoman to her feet. The same horn as before blasted, signalling the end of the tournament.

'I'd expected a difficult fight, but that was beyond impressive. And tell your friend that he's not half bad either. In truth, a part of me had been looking forward to fighting you.'

Lucina stared at her father, tensing at their proximity to each other. 'The same.' she managed.

Chrom was about to speak again, but the two Khan's had descended from their respective viewing boxes. While he was distracted, Lucina took her leave, signalling for Laurent to follow her.

'Not how I'd hoped it would go.'

'It shouldn't be of any real concern; so long as we prevent Emmeryn's assassination, we will more than likely prevent the war altogether. Speaking of, we must meet with everyone else tomorrow at Ylisstol, so I would suggest we leave quickly.'

'That is exactly what we're doing now.'

'Splendid. I was just ensuring you had no further business to attend in this uncultured state of gorillas, who fail to follow even simple direction.' He pushed his glasses up again.

Lucina placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. 'Calm down. We had one problem person and we won't have to come back here for a good while.'

'I should certainly hope so.'

* * *

**So there you have it. I liked writing the very beginning of the big action sequence, and I'm really happy with the end result because I've written it as closely to the actual game as I can, while trying to mould certain bits to a more writing-friendly style. Please let me know what you thought.**

**My writing was really badly affected by school and particularly by UCAS and all that jazz, so I don't think I'll be speeding up release anytime soon. Also, after the October 15th deadline, I'm going out to buy Wind Waker HD, both new Pokemon games, new Skullduggery Pleasant book and the new Percy Jackson book, so I won't be doing much else until November starts. Regardless, expect the next chapter in the first week of November and I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Have a nice day,**

**TRN**


	4. Chapter 3: Foreseer

**It's that time of the month again! This one is perhaps a little slower than last month's, but I do like the flashback section and the ending here, so I hope you do too. LOADS of stuff has happened since my last upload. I realised I'm not asexual (a little late to the party *cough*half a decade*wheeze*), dropped Latin as an A-level and finally got the ugly UCAS beast beaten (*confetti, party whistles etc.*) and beat the elite four, alongside other, more personal stuff. Anyway, enjoy the read and please review, thanks.**

* * *

Chapter 3: Foreseer

Gerome could see the royal palace below as Minerva carried him over the city. He ordered her to set down at a clear space in the middle of the central road, which stretched from the main gate to the palace. A small crowd formed to watch the wyvern land, but most went about their business. Once he had dismounted, some people tried to ask questions about Minerva and wyverns in general, but he ignored them, much to their chagrin.

* * *

He sent Minerva away, allowing her time to hunt and sleep if she needed. Once the beast had flown away, he made his way along the corridor of shops and inns to the Azure Wyvern, the inn they had agreed to meet at. He entered the inn and ordered the cheapest drink he could see; they couldn't kick him out so long as he was drinking something.

Looking around, he could see that he was the first to arrive. He paid for the water and took it to a table close to the entrance. He sat, sipped his drink on occasion, and waited.

_Cherche wrenched the axe from the skull of the latest dead member of the Grimleal. Looking around, she saw that only Risen remained, and more than she and the few soldiers left could handle without further backup._

'_Minerva! Gerome, now!'_

_The wyvern turned and took flight to their home. The Ylissean soldiers looked in horror as their greatest asset abandoned them._

'_What are you doing!?'_

'_Saving my son!'_

'_If that wyvern leaves, we're all dead!'_

'_We're dead anyway.' A tear streaked down her face at the memory of her husband's dying face mere hours ago._

'_We need to hold them off until reinforcements arrive and that's not going to happen without that wyvern!'_

'_Reinforcements aren't coming. It's the same everywhere else reinforcements could come from. Our only hope is to retreat to Ylisstol and pray to the gods that it's still safe there.'_

'_We can't leave! You aren't the only family that lives here!'_

'_What did you think I was doing for an hour before joining the fight? Everyone here has spent the last hour packing their essentials and gathering at the town centre.'_

_The soldier grimaced as he stabbed the first of the wave of Risen. 'Bah! Fine! Everyone, retreat! To the town centre! We hold them off there and buy time for civilians to leave!'_

_He recognised the roar outside the house. He'd been told to stay inside until someone returned and Minerva definitely counted as someone. The ten-year-old boy ran to the front door and flung it open to the sight of the blue reptile keeping a watchful eye on the street. _

'_Minerva! Where are mum and dad?'_

_She let out a short cry and took off, grabbing the child in her talons, before flying straight to the town centre._

'_Everyone who's ready, go! Go! We can't keep them occupied much longer!' _

_Several of the carts and horses began to leave, but some were still being loaded with belongings and people. A few of the women found their husbands among the soldiers and tried convincing them to go with them. Some of the injured and inexperienced listened, climbing into the carts or onto horses' backs._

'_What are you all doing!? We-'_

_Cherche interrupted the commanding officer. 'Let them leave. With or without them, we are doomed. It's better for more to get away while it is still possible.'_

_A roar signalled Minerva's arrival, dropping Gerome next to his mother before landing by her. Cherche knelt down and held her son by the shoulders._

'_Gerome, sweetie, you have to get on the Larsons' cart. You're getting out of here and going to Ylisstol, okay?'_

'_Where's dad?'_

_Cherche failed to hold back her tears and nearly set Gerome off as well. _

'_Mum…?'_

'_I'm sorry. I… I'm so sorry.' She embraced her child, sobbing into his shoulder. 'You've got to go. I promise I'll see you soon.'_

'_Mum…I…'_

_Mrs Larson came over from her cart._

'_Go with Mrs Larson, Gerome.' She scooped the boy into her arms and handed him to the larger woman, who carried him to the cart and sat him in the back next to her own children before climbing in afterwards._

'_Let's go, Jerry!' _

_Mr Larson in the front started the horses on their journey to Ylisstol, but as they began to pick up speed, Gerome got up from his seat and jumped out of the back. Mrs Larson started telling her husband to stop, but the smell of oncoming Risen had frightened the horses beyond turning back, so there was no choice but to abandon the little boy as he ran back to his mother._

_The town centre was overrun. Barely any soldiers remained, fighting unknowable hordes of Risen. Minerva was spreading flames and clawing at the enemy, but she had already acquired various axe and lance wounds around her legs. The last few defenders retreated into the alleyway the carts had left by. Now only Minerva, Cherche and one soldier remained. _

'_Mum!'_

_Cherche turned in horror at her child. _

'_Gerome, what are you doing?!' She turned back in time to behead a Risen and see the last soldier die as the black fog cleared. 'Run!'_

_She sprinted over to Gerome and picked him up as she passed._

'_Minerva!' _

_The wyvern roasted the nearest Risen before landing. Cherche hoisted Gerome onto Minerva's back as she ejected fire again. A Risen mage sent its own fire in retaliation, exploding in the wyvern's face. She roared and turned away from the blast._

_As she did, the sound of steel slicing flesh hit her and Gerome's ears._

'_Mum!'_

_Cherche looked down at the lance through her stomach, blood spurting profusely from it. She looked up again, crying. _

'_I love you. Remember that.'_

_Minerva screeched in pain as Gerome ran again to his mother. The next jet of fire burned for much longer than normal. Minerva then swiped her tail at the Risen, slamming several into a burning building. She hopped up and began flapping her wings. Collecting each person in one clawed foot, she breathed fire again and left in the same direction as the carts had._

'_Mum!' Gerome barely managed to get the word out through his tears. In her haste, Minerva had given Gerome a light cut across the stomach, but he didn't care. For the entire journey, he could only look at his bleeding mother lying limp in Minerva's other foot. He didn't see the burning wreckage of the entire village's convoy, beset by as many Risen as the town itself._

_Minerva's wounds forced her to land in the forest between Southtown and Ylisstol. After setting her mistress and Gerome down, she landed and limped across to the pair. Gerome was crying into his mother's chest, desperately listening for a heartbeat. Minerva nudged the woman's corpse and let out a pained cry, as desperate as the little boy to see her return to life._

_After one more cry, this time in mourning, she lay down, her injured legs no longer able to support her, covering the bleeding mother and weeping son with a large, warm wing._

* * *

Lucina and Laurent ran the last few feet to the inn. They had seen Cynthia, Owain and Brady land, Brady naturally complaining about how bad pegasus rides were for his back, and were trying to intercept them before they entered the Azure Wyvern.

'Cynthia!'

The younger princess turned and let the half-open door swing shut.

'Lucy!' she shouted as she hugged her sister.

'Hey, Luce, L…' Owain had been about to go on a spiel concerning the lack of heroes' ability to die, but Laurent's new age surprised him. 'Gods, you're old!'

'Unfortunately, my premature exit from our temporal position had unintended repercussions: namely, my materialisation three years previous to the majority of you.'

'Damn, Laurie. I hope you been doin' somethin' useful for three years.' Brady frowned at the mage.

Laurent ignored the sudden new nickname. 'Naturally, I made progressions in my magical abilities.'

The door to the inn opened and Gerome appeared in the doorway. 'I see you've arrived. I'd expected at least someone to already be here.'

'Gerome!' Lucina hugged her friend, much to his surprise, but she soon released him. 'Sorry, but it's good to see you.'

'Where's that bloody monster o' yours?'

'Minerva is hunting, Brady. It's well known they target the weakest of their prey, so you may wish to get inside before she spots you.'

'Probably wouldn't be the worst o' me problems.' he grumbled as he hobbled inside.

The others followed and recounted their stories, Owain naturally making the most absorbing storyteller.

'And yet they fought on, taking revenge for their brave comrade into their own hands. Had my sword hand not craved their blood, they may almost have been a match for us. Alas, they lasted not five minutes and we departed the forest grounds. Upon our emergence from the trees, we found ourselves in a quaint little village. It soon became apparent that our battle was one that had turned the tide of an on-going torment of the village people at the hands of a mysterious bandit named Chrom.

'It turned out this imposter had taken the name of my uncle in order to force people to perform his bidding and we had killed the self-same man not half an hour before. We were heralded as heroes of the town and a feast was held in our honour.'

'By which 'e means they gave us a free meal an' bed for the night. Not that I'm complainin', but 'e tends to overinflate this stuff.'

'Not complaining? That's a first.' Gerome commented snidely.

'Let Owain finish, Brady. I like the way he tells it.' Cynthia requested.

'My thanks, cousin. Anyway, where was I? Ah, yes. After waking the morning after our feast, we asked the date and location and immediately made our way here. Cynthia's pegasus made a valiant effort in transporting us, flying for not one, not two, but three days straight.'

'Okay, now 'e's jus' makin' it up. It took one day to reach Plegia – not the nicest welcome there, I might add – and another 'alf day to here.'

'If you'd be so kind as to let me finish… well… I guess I'm finished.'

'Plegia? Where did you start off?' Lucina asked. She had taken her mask off, deciding it was too uncomfortable after walking for five hours in it.

'It was a little island off the south coast of Chon'sin.' Cynthia replied.

'Wow. I didn't think the Failsafe would throw us that far apart.'

'I landed in Wyvern Valley.'

'Wow. I bet that took a long time to get back.'

'It would have, if Minerva had let me set her free. She refused and flew back as I tried to leave.' He sounded annoyed at his mount, but his smile betrayed his true feelings.

'Aww, she loves you.' Lucina pointed an accusing finger at Gerome. 'And you love her too; don't pretend otherwise.'

Gerome grumbled as he took another sip of water.

'Heh. Gerome's got a girlfriend, 'as 'e?'

'Better than you've ever managed.'

'You sure that's better, buddy?'

Gerome glared at Brady, but before he could retaliate, the door swung open again.

'Alright, Noire? We're here now and it's barely past midday. I told you we didn't need to come so damn early.'

'Yes, but it's nice to have your company all the same, Severa.' Lucina piped up from her seat.

Severa whirled on the spot, homing in on Lucina's voice. 'Hey, Noire! The guys are here already!'

The archer walked through the door, feebly twisting her spare bowstring around her fingers. 'H-hi.' she whispered with a small smile.

Owain grabbed Brady's staff and used it to hook around a nearby table's leg and bring it closer to the current table.

'Hey, get off yer butt instead o' using me staff like some common hook!' Brady complained, taking it back.

The two girls brought some chairs over and joined the others.

'Anyone had enough of this place already as well?' Severa sneered.

'Most of us only just got here.'

'Well whoopee for you. We've been stuck here for months. We got the cheapest room at any inn we could find and still used up all our money in three days.'

'Gods, how have you been surviving?'

'We've been hunting deer just outside town for food and mainly sleeping near some bakery. The ovens kept it warmer than most other places.'

'Gods, I'm so sorry. I thought that money would last each of us for weeks at least.'

''Splains why ya smell like mouldy bread.'

'We never fully understood the concept of money in our time, so it was natural for monetary obstacles to present themselves.' Laurent said, ignoring Brady's comment.

Severa was not so lenient towards the priest, giving him a sharp smack on the head.

Lucina fished several small bags out of her pockets, each filled with gold coins. 'Here. Turns out the West Khan pays his champions well, even if they lose. I'd say we all need to freshen up a little.' She started dividing the money into equal shares, being mindful to include the four absentees. 'Meet back here in three hours?'

* * *

Four hours later, the same eight people were sat at the same tables, now plentifully refreshed and with satisfied stomachs. There was still no sign of the other four, though, and Lucina was beginning to worry once the sun began to set.

'We're losing time. We know the attempt begins as soon as the sun goes past the horizon.'

'Well, there are still eight of us. That's more than enough to hold off a few Plegians, even without your dad's help.' Severa allayed the princess' fears.

'We should move now to ensure our arrival is not too late.' Gerome spoke solemnly, but in a commanding tone.

Lucina clearly regretted the others' absence, but agreed. 'Fine. Come on, people.'

* * *

'Dammit, Inigo, your prancing about has already made us late. The sun's almost down.'

Inigo ran to catch up to Kjelle, heavily out of breath.

'It's your fault for jabbing my stomach every five minutes.'

'Damn. You didn't even try to turn that into some speech about your endless love for me; the message must be getting through to you.'

The two teenagers were almost at the cleft in the palace gardens' wall Lucina had told them about. They searched the brush around the location and found the spot hidden at the back of an overgrown rose bush.

'Aha! Over here, Inigo!' Kjelle shouted the man over as she pushed her way through and into the gardens, emerging from a maple grove on the other side.

'Seriously, why'd it have to be roses? Couldn't it be a less thorny plant?'

'Quit whining and push your way through.'

'Oh, it's all well and good for you, with your full metal armour. I'm in leather!'

'Use your damn shield, pipsqueak. Come on!'

'Fine.' He started pushing through as a thorn scratched him across the cheek. 'Ah! Ooh! I should pick a bouquet. That ought to get me somewhere.'

'You realise I can hear you, don't you?'

Kjelle impatiently grabbed his arm and pulled him past the roses. His already partially outstretched hand got some more scratches as he suddenly accelerated into the gardens.

'Ow!'

Kjelle was already moving in the direction of the courtyard the assassination would begin from.

'I trust this proof will suffice.' she heard in the distance.

'That's Lucina! Come on, whiney!'

* * *

'Well spoken, sir.'

Lucina had overheard Chrom's small speech about Emmeryn's kind-hearted nature and his feelings toward Gangrel and now she moved onto the scene.

'Marth…' Chrom said as he and his tactician turned towards her.

'Good evening to you.'

'How did you get in here?'

'The cleft in the castle wall, behind the maple grove.'

'There? But how would you…? Ugh.'

'You know the place, Chrom?' Robin interrupted.

'Yes. I bashed in part of the wall while training the Shepherds. It's only a small hole, and I'd thought I well concealed, but…'

Lucina almost gave in to a cheeky smile. 'Your secret is safe with me. I come here only to warn you.'

'Warn us?'

'The Exalt's life is in danger.'

Chrom was noticeably disturbed both by the message and the carrier's seemingly expert knowledge. 'What, Emmeryn? That's absurd. She's guarded at all hours.'

'So you've been told about my own friends' entrance to the castle?'

'What?'

'There are many ways to break into this palace, sir. Rest assured, my friends and I aim only to protect your sister's life.'

'This is preposterous! There's no way anyone could get in here without the guards being alerted.'

'Yes, I expected your reaction to be along those lines. So allow me to prove my good intentions.'

Lucina drew her blade, enticing Chrom to place a hand on his own.

'I'm about to save your life.' She turned slightly to the bushes behind her. 'From him.'

The assassin, knowing he had been discovered, decided to make a mad dash to perform his duty, bursting from the bushes. Lucina reacted with pinpoint timing and precision, turning perfectly on the spot to sweep a foot under the assassin's legs, tripping him up. She sliced her own blade down, slitting the brigand's throat.

'I trust this proof will suffice?'

Chrom looked in confusion at the dead assassin on the floor before him. '…Yeah.' he nodded.

A shout emerged from the nearby tree as a second man leapt from its branches, aiming to bring his sword to Lucina's head. She turned in surprise; she hadn't expected a second assassin. Bringing her own sword up to meet the attacker's, she was unbalanced and tripped over the sword of the first.

Falling to the ground, she could put up no defence as the sword tip slashed down her mask, gouging a small mark in her nose and releasing her long blue hair as the two metal plates hit the earth

An armoured knight sped into sight from around the building's corner, lance at the ready. Before Chrom could perform his own attack, she charged straight into the assassin, skewering him into the tree's trunk.

'Nice try, punk.'

Chrom and Robin both drew their swords and pointed them at the knight, Robin also summoning a fireball in his hand.

'Hold. She is a friend.' Lucina, now steady on her feet, ran to Kjelle, beaming. 'Kjelle! I didn't think you would make it!'

The friends embraced, Kjelle strongly patting Lucina's back. 'Come on, Luce; you should know they wouldn't be able to keep me away. Inigo's around somewhere. Wouldn't be surprised if he'd started chatting up a statue by now.'

Robin made a few confused hand gestures. 'Whoa. _So_ many questions. You're a woman?'

'Yes, and quite the actress, too. Honestly I'm surprised you two didn't figure it out until just now.'

Lissa ran out of the building to her brother's side. 'I heard yelling. Is everything okay?'

'Yeah. Marth… saved us.'

Lissa's eyes found their way to the dead assassin. 'Ahh! Who the heck are they?! Are they…?'

'Assassin's intent on taking your brother's life. Don't worry, they didn't do any damage thanks to me and-'

Lucina covered Kjelle's mouth with her free hand, much to her confused displeasure. 'Marth.'

'Why?' Kjelle asked once she was allowed to speak again.

'Just in case, you know?'

'I did use your actual nickname two seconds ago.'

'Did you?' Chrom asked, thinking back.

'Oh, whatever.' Kjelle waved a hand dismissively.

Owain now emerged through the same exit as Lissa.

'Oh, hey, Kjelle. We're ready. Just thought you'd like to know.'

'How come you get a fake name and we don't?'

Owain suddenly changed his tune. 'Yeah, why is that? I want a cool name too.'

'Who the heck are you?!' Chrom yelled, gesturing at Owain.

'Another friend.' Lucina clarified as Inigo came round the corner, holding ten to fifteen roses in his hand.

'Ah, my dear Kjelle. I took the liberty of picking these roses for a woman just as bittersweet.'

Lissa giggled lightly. 'Awww, that's sweet and funny.'

'Meanwhile, we were sorting out the real issue of Emmeryn's assassination.'

'About that…' Robin began.

Inigo had turned his attentions to Lissa. 'Than perhaps you might like this bouquet for yourself?' he said, handing the flowers to the blushing maiden.

'Dude! Not cool.' Owain called from the doorway, Kjelle and Lucina both hitting Inigo on the back of the head.

'Sorry. Force of habit.'

'At least you've gone off me. I had to put up with him for days.'

'About the assassination attempt, people!' Robin shouted.

As if waiting for the exact timing, an explosion went off at the moment Robin finished talking. Everyone looked to the apparent source at the other side of the castle grounds and ran into the building.

* * *

Noire was the first out of the tunnel. She hurried across the few metres to Emmeryn's bedchamber door and knocked on it as the others piled into the room.

Emmeryn opened the door, her expression confused, but serene as ever.

'E-exalt Emmeryn?' Noire said sheepishly.

Having been raised by two Plegian dark mages, Noire's heavy Plegian accent also found its way to Emmeryn's ears. 'Plegian? I didn't expect Gangrel to resort to an assassination attempt.'

'Y-you already know?'

'Is that not why you are here?'

'No no no no no! We're here, uh… we…' She panicked as she searched for her talisman before remembering it was still in Lucina's possession. 'I didn't ask for my talisman back!'

Gerome took over the conversation. 'My apologies, Exalt. We did not mean to alarm you. We are here in order to protect you from an assassination attempt that we believe is going to be executed tonight.'

'I'm going to tell Lucina and Chrom we're ready now.' Owain said as he began to run to the courtyard.

'Ah, you're with Chrom?'

'He does not know us, but we intend to work with him.'

'I believe you. What do you need of me?'

'You are so fast to place your trust in us?'

'If you were the assassins, I would already be dead, would I not?'

'That is true enough. Please, stay in your room. It is much easier for us to guard this room than risk having you move through the open.'

'I am learned with a staff. If any of you require healing, I would be more than happy-'

Brady held up his own staff. 'Don't you worry yer royal noggin 'bout that. I can take care of 'em.'

An explosion reverberated through the building, followed by the screams of injured soldiers.

'Stay in your room; we will protect you.' Gerome turned to the remaining children and a few soldiers who had made a beeline to defend Emmeryn's room. 'Severa, Noire: take the left route. Cynthia, Laurent: you are on the right. I will take centre aisle with Brady.' He looked at the priest. 'You should have the largest healing coverage there.'

The palace soldiers had begun surrounding the group before Emmeryn gave her blessing 'They are not your enemies. Work with them to defend this castle.'

Chrom returned with the others from the courtyard in tow. 'Sister! Pray, stay in your room. We will fight the assassins off.'

'Chrom, please do not risk your life unnecessarily. My life is not worth so many of yours.'

'Do not worry, Emmeryn; we will be fine.'

Gerome noted the new arrivals and took charge of their positions as Chrom ordered the royal guards into place. 'Inigo, help Cynthia and Laurent. Owain, to Severa and Noire. Marth and Kjelle come here.'

Lucina could see the guards already having trouble against the numerous cavalrymen and charged straight into the thick of battle to their aid, Kjelle right behind her.

* * *

**There you have it. I hope you enjoyed the read and please let me know what you thought. If you don't mind, I'm going to shamelessly advertise my friend's awesomeness now. She does some really awesome fandom-related stuff on Etsy (unfortunately none for Fire Emblem), mainly jewellery of some form, and better yet, is willing to take certain requests as to what she makes. If you fancy a look-see, search '****Myseybeads' on Etsy.**

**I left ALL my story notes on a train a few days ago (DISASTER), but they're sending it all back in a few days' time, so productivity shouldn't take too bad a hit. See you all in December.**

**Have a nice day,**

**TRN**


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